The Last Jedi THE LAST JEDI - Score as heard in the movie thread - SPOILERS ALLOWED

[Jay 41,634]

Sigh.  Unforunately....

[aviazn 273]

I quite liked the running out of fuel setup on paper, but there wasn’t anything in the script to really sell the sense of desperation. And Dern’s character is underwritten, too. It could have been the Helm’s Deep of this trilogy. Missed opportunity.

 

This might be a weird criticism, but I feel both Abrams and Johnson focused too much on their characters during the battles and not enough on the overall strategic situation. Having Poe, Rose, and Finn all in fighters in the same battle leaves no room for the sense of pacing and coherence that say, Lucas brought to the Death Star.

[Jay 41,634]

2 minutes ago, aviazn said:

This might be a weird criticism, but I feel both Abrams and Johnson focused too much on their characters during the battles and not enough on the overall strategic situation. Having Poe, Rose, and Finn all in fighters in the same battle leaves no room for the sense of pacing and coherence that say, Lucas brought to the Death Star.

 

Hey, you;re right.  That's a good point

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,755]

Just now, aviazn said:

I quite liked the running out of fuel setup on paper, but there wasn’t anything in the script to really sell the sense of desperation.

 

Indeed. It has a bunch of ships, just slowly... slowly going somewhere. 

 

Perhaps they should have done all that in Hyperspace, speed it up, increase the drama.

 

[artguy360 1,993]

I do think JJ will give JW more to work with musically in terms of thematic material and maybe even action music. TLJ score has a lot of great music but it is more thematically slim than TFA, I think as a direct result of the film itself. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,755]

Well there are a LOT of themes in TLJ, just not new ones.

[artguy360 1,993]

Just now, Stefancos said:

Well there are a LOT of themes in TLJ, just not new ones.

That's what I meant. 

[Jay 41,634]

Here's the unreleased cue for Rey training with the lightsaber.  It's actually a blend of Rey's Theme with the new Luke theme, so the new Luke theme appears at least THREE times in the underscore, not just two!

 

[nightscape94 967]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Completely disagree.  Nothing felt tracked at all.

 

Speaking honestly, that scene where Ren is smashing his helmet against the elevator wall, I had a sudden reaction thinking it was tracked.  It sounded straight out of TFA.  I had a fear of things to come, but that was quickly removed as the score progressed through the movie.

[Jay 41,634]

Kylo Ren's themes rarely sound any different in TLJ as they did in TFA, which is kind of weird because he does so much with the Resistance theme and Rey's theme.

[publicist 4,647]

Is this score even eligible for an AA nomination?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,755]

4 minutes ago, nightscape94 said:

 

Speaking honestly, that scene where Ren is smashing his helmet against the elevator wall, I had a sudden reaction thinking it was tracked.  It sounded straight out of TFA.  I had a fear of things to come, but that was quickly removed as the score progressed through the movie.

 

Jason is wrong. Of you saw the film without listening to the OST a bunch of times before it really sounds like they tracked stuff in there. And I'm not the only one who has commented on that.

1 minute ago, publicist said:

Is this score even eligible for an AA nomination?

 

Who knows these days!

[Jay 41,634]

Here's the Poe's Theme statement from the opening battle that isn't on the OST

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,755]

Did you record the whole movie on your phone?

 

Thats not allowed!

[nightscape94 967]

I'm definitely happy with the consistency of leitmotif writing in this movie.  Reminded me of ESB in that regard, and I'm especially happy he remembered Poe's theme.  The version at 1:51 in "Peace and Purpose" is really cool.

 

I also like that he still used the rising cellos part of Ren's call to the darkside theme to great effect within the score.

 

Too bad about Finn's theme not really being present basically at all, except for one itsy bitsy moment in the first track which is barely detectable.

[DominicCobb 195]

Very interested to hear the OST after seeing the film. Obviously the score is great, as we should expect. There were some definite highlights, but as usual it's hard to keep track of the score when the first time you hear it is when you're watching the film.

 

It definitely seemed like this score was heavily reliant on past material (though not necessarily in a bad way). In terms of new stuff, Rose's theme was obvious, and there was something new for Luke/island training and maybe also something else? You guys have probably figured this all out. 

 

There were a lot of moments that sounded like direct quotes of previous scores, though not tracked? (have we come to a conclusion on this?) One thing that was odd (though cool) was that basically everything from TFA is back (except the Finn/Falcon motif), even some of the smaller stuff like that First Order motif from the Daniel Craig scene and the finale and of course Poe's theme which I thought I heard a couple times.

 

I was surprised he didn't come up with anything new for the First Order though there was one rendition of Kylo Ren's theme towards the end that seemed like an expansion of sorts. Ultimately I feel like overall it wasn't as strong as TFA but of course that's just my first impression. 

[Jay 41,634]

3 minutes ago, nightscape94 said:

Too bad about Finn's theme not really being present basically at all, except for one itsy bitsy moment in the first track which is barely detectable.

 

It's not Finn's Theme there.  Its just simliar-ish music, it plays when BB8 is fiddling with wires in Poe's X-Wing.

 

Finn doesn't wake up from his coma until after the whole first battle is over

[artguy360 1,993]

Just regarding the film, do we all agree Snoke is completely useless? 

 

Even though his theme is not particularly remarkable, the music for the character is better than the character itself.

[Jay 41,634]

1 minute ago, artguy360 said:

Just regarding the film

 

Take it to the film thread!

[nightscape94 967]

1 minute ago, Jay said:

It's not Finn's Theme there.  Its just simliar-ish music, it plays when BB8 is fiddling with wires in Poe's X-Wing.

 

Even more of a bummer then that he either forgot it, or didn't particular feel a use for it.  Maybe it has more to do with the action-esque nature of it.  It's not as malleable.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,755]

Finn's theme was pretty much abandoned in the second half of TFA though. I didn't expect it back.

 

[Jay 41,634]

Here's the Emperor's Theme

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,755]

I liked that quote!

[KK 3,310]

Any idea why it's there?

[artguy360 1,993]

2 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

Take it to the film thread!

I'll just drop it. I don't care enough about the movie itself to discuss it. I didn't even realize there was a film thread!

 

I'm not sure of this yet, but I think I like the action music in TFA more than I do the action music in TLJ. TFA's action cues seem more cohesive.

[Jay 41,634]

2 minutes ago, KK said:

Any idea why it's there?

 

Because Snoke is torturing Rey, like The Emperor did to Luke

 

 

1 minute ago, artguy360 said:

I didn't even realize there was a film thread!

 

http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/28073-spoiler-talk

[Not Mr. Big 4,787]

It sucked.

[nightscape94 967]

It played fine for me when I saw the film.  Enjoyed its usage.  Seemed appropriate and well-spotted.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,755]

7 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

Because Snoke is torturing Rey, like The Emperor did to Luke

 

That scene draws some very obvious parallels between Snoke and The Emperor. I'm sure the quote of Palpy's theme was deliberate to reinforce that 

[nightscape94 967]

It's Snoke's biggest display of rage and power, and the theme is timed perfectly with it.  Totally works.

[Holko 11,180]

Only four days ago I never thought I'd say this, but the Resistance March is really starting to grow on me!

[artguy360 1,993]

Is the best action music on the OST or are there any substantial absences? 

[Jay 41,634]

I think the best action music is on the OST, but I'd have to listen to what's in the film again.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,755]

It certainly seems to be a very well rounded OST. 

 

Very chronological too.

[publicist 4,647]

4 minutes ago, artguy360 said:

Is the best action music on the OST or are there any substantial absences? 

 

Tbh, i found the album much more satisfying than the scene-specific scoring in the movie which was full of start/stop moments and harsh cluttered brass ca. Episode II and III which i never warmed up to. Oh, and and too much force theme. 

[artguy360 1,993]

Just now, publicist said:

 

Tbh, i found the album much more satisfying than the scene-specific scoring in the movie which was full of start/stop moments and harsh cluttered brass ca. Episode II and III which i never warmed up to. Oh, and and too much force theme. 

I agree on the point of noisy brass. I thought that was a bit too present in the score.

 

Is the music for Rey and Kylo fighting the guards on the OST? I really want to revisit that music. It seemed tonally off in the film. I thought that scene should have been scored more dramatically and less action-y.

[Jay 41,634]

If it is it'd be in the New Alliance track I assume.  I don't remember specifically what the music was like in that scene.

[publicist 4,647]

2 minutes ago, artguy360 said:

Is the music for Rey and Kylo fighting the guards on the OST? I really want to revisit that music. It seemed tonally off in the film. I thought that scene should have been scored more dramatically and less action-y.

 

This one longed for slow John Barry music, or indeed Williams' own emperor throne room approach in ROTJ.

[DominicCobb 195]

20 minutes ago, Stefancos said:

 

That scene draws some very obvious parallels between Snoke and The Emperor. I'm sure the quote of Palpy's theme was deliberate to reinforce that 

 

That, and there is precedent for Emperor's theme as a generic Dark Side theme, if I'm not mistaken.

[artguy360 1,993]

3 minutes ago, Jay said:

If it is it'd be in the New Alliance track I assume.  I don't remember specifically what the music was like in that scene.

It sounded very similar to the music for Finn vs Phasma, punchy action music with lots of clashing brass. Or at least that's how I remember it. 

[Joni Wiljami 1,215]

Noisy brass??  oh dear

[artguy360 1,993]

9 minutes ago, Jay said:

If it is it'd be in the New Alliance track I assume.  I don't remember specifically what the music was like in that scene.

Listening to it again, I think you're right. It's alright on it's own as some fun JW action music but it didn't fit the moment in the film for me at all.

[BloodBoal 7,542]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,755]

2 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

(didn't even realize the two characters never met before!).

There's really no reason why they couldn't have met at the end of TFA. But we didnt see it so it never happened.

[artguy360 1,993]

Has someone written a breakdown of what music from the OST covers what scenes from the movie? I know it's mostly chronological but some stuff is hard to match up sight unseen.

 

Also, the spark is an amazing track. JW at his almost-finest. 

[nightscape94 967]

12 minutes ago, BloodBoal said:

 

It appears three times in the film:

 

- During the opening battle, when Poe does heroic stuff.

- During his "Spark" speech on Crait.

- When he introduces himself to Rey (didn't even realize the two characters never met before!).

 

From what I understand, only the last one is on the OST.

 

The last one is very subtle in the underscore, which I caught on my OST listen.  Nice rendition, and the first time I've heard it in a non-action way.

[mrbellamy 7,155]

34 minutes ago, artguy360 said:

Is the music for Rey and Kylo fighting the guards on the OST? I really want to revisit that music. It seemed tonally off in the film. I thought that scene should have been scored more dramatically and less action-y.

 

Yeah it's New Alliance. Probably my biggest disappointment with the score, that sequence really did deserve something much more distinctive and I think he kinda let it down. Maybe the best sequence of his career to have the most anonymous music? That and the chase through the Crait mines really felt like big missed opportunities for some bold new material.

 

One unreleased bit I noticed and liked was some pretty cool fluttering underscore as Rey's pod landed to meet Kylo.

[Damien F 1,830]

When Rey leaves the Falcon in the pod and goes to Ren's ship, there is a cool little arrangement of her theme followed by some rapid fire brass. It is brief but interesting.

 

Jason, perhaps you can find that clip?

[artguy360 1,993]

1 minute ago, mrbellamy said:

 

Yeah it's New Alliance. Probably my biggest disappointment with the score, that sequence really did deserve something much more distinctive and I think he kinda let it down. Maybe the best sequence of his career to have the most anonymous music? That and the chase through the Crait mines really felt like big missed opportunities for some bold new material.

I totally agree about the Kylo and Ren vs guards fight but not about the Crait mines chase. I loved the use of Attack of the Tie Fighters. It felt like a more effective direct call back than the numerous uses of the rebel fanfare which is beginning to grow old to me. As has largely been the case for a while now, JW seems to be pretty much done with writing action music around a clear motivic idea. But at the same time, he did return to this approach for a few key action sequences in TFA with Follow Me and The Falcon, March of the Resistance, and Scherzo for X-Wings (despite it's poor utilization in the film). For TLJ, this approach seems almost completely absent which is really too bad.

[mrbellamy 7,155]

One track that has really shot to the top of my favorites knowing the context is "Lesson One." That last minute is fantastically overblown in the film in a great dramatic way.